Noon was drawing closer and closer. Of course, I was underwater, so I only had a clock to look at. And even clocks can be wrong.

I was in the Dritte Stock rest area. People were gathered everywhere, and they came in all shapes and sizes. Couples, families, groups of friends… LeMU attracted all kinds, I guess. My job was to make sure that everyone was having a good time. You could say I was a sort of guide.

Then, something caught my eye. There was a boy on the bench. Sitting on of our park benches was a boy all by himself. He had sandy-blond hair and was dressed in average clothes. He looked about 15 or 16. He had an ice cream cone in his hand. It looked like he had been sitting there for a looooong time, because his ice cream was melted and spilling into his lap. He had sort of a troubled look on his face. Suddenly, my gears started turning like crazy. It was time for Perky-Employee-You mode!

"What's wrong?"

I beamed my biggest smile at the boy. He looked up and stared at me.

"Are you lost?"

He still looked confused.

"Did you get separated from your friends?"

"Yeah". He finally replied. His voice sounded a bit sad. "I've been waiting."

"Waiting?"

"Well… I was waiting."

"You were waiting… for me?" Of course it was a joke. I wanted to cheer him up. I gave an even bigger grin.

"N-no…" I guessed I was scaring him. But I suddenly felt like I was in a great mood.

"I was told to wait here, so…"

"I see…" I had seen this scene before. Probably on a soap opera on TV. But no matter what, this kid had been flat out D-U-M-P-E-D. Poor guy. I wanted to do something for him. But, what?

"Listen, you've obviously been stood up and are tired of waiting…" I tried to think of something we could do. Then it hit me. "I know!" I clapped my hands together as the little light bulb in my head switched on. "Hey, hey, you're alone, right?"

"Huh?"

"Well, you're bored, right?" How about I give you a tour of LeMU?" I grabbed his arm and pulled him off his seat. Something told me this was going to be fun.

"B…but I'm waiting for someone."

"Waiting? For who?" I couldn't understand it. Why was he still insisting to wait for someone who stood him up? Was he just optimistic?

"…Uh…"

That was it. He needed to get this off his mind. And I was taking a liking to him. He seemed like one of those people who could be the perfect friend for anyone. I really hadn't had any super-close friends ever since I graduated from high school. And it does my heart good to make someone feel better. "If they haven't showed up yet, don't you think you've waited long enough?" I took a breath. "Whaddya say? How about it?"

"Al-alright…"

Yes! I could finally have some fun. And make him feel better! As I was about to turn around, I noticed that he was looking at my nametag. Silly me! I had forgotten to tell him my name!

"Y-O-U…?"

"I'm You!"

"…?"

"Yup." I nodded my head. "My first name's You… my last name is Tanaka… my real name is much longer, though." I winced at the thought of telling him my real name. So long… so very long… most people had to ask me to say it a few more times. I decided to spare us both that for now.

"Longer?"

"Long, like, endlessly long, but... it's such a pain. Just call me 'You'. Nice to meet you!" I stuck out my hand for him to shake. He still looked kind of sad. But hey, I would be sad if I got stood up after waiting so long.

"N-nice to meet you?" He shook my hand slowly. I couldn't understand why I was suddenly so dedicated to making him my friend and cheering him up. Maybe it was destiny. Maybe I was just crazy. But either way... I wanted to be with him for some reason...

"So, shall we go?" We let go of our hands. He looked at his for a moment, and then we began to walk together. And then it hit me.

Moriko-san15: Whew! I'm amazed that I was able to make it through here. So, whatcha think? Like it? Hate it? I used the actual quotes from the game this time. I tried to figure out what You-chan would be thinking at that moment. She's so perky, it's fun to do! Well anyway, send me your reviews! And keep playing Ever17!

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.